Father recommends stricter rules for sex offenders

Published 4:36 pm, Tuesday, April 8, 2014

A Midland father wants steps taken to better monitor sex offenders after he saw a man masturbating — twice in one month — outside his home and in view of his 5-year-old daughter.

The man spoke at Tuesday’s City Council meeting and said sex offenders should have signs on their doors or in their front yards to notify people of their status. He told the Reporter-Telegram that sex offenders should wear monitors that track their location.

It is Reporter-Telegram policy not to identify alleged victims. And while the father spoke in a public meeting, naming him would identify the girl.

Midlander Christopher Ryan Howard, 27, was arrested March 10 for indecency with a child by exposure, a third-degree felony, after witnesses saw him performing the sexual act in front of the family’s residence. The girl could see Howard through the glass front door, according to Reporter-Telegram records.

The father said they turned over to police pictures and videos to prove Howard was at the residence.

Midland County District Attorney Teresa Clingman said her office did not have sufficient evidence and the charge was dismissed. Howard was released from custody on March 26.

Investigators filed another warrant with the intent to charge Howard for the March 10 incident. But on Thursday — before they could fulfill that warrant — Howard again was found masturbating outside the home, said Sara Higgins, the city’s public information officer.

Howard has arrests dating back to 1997. He’s been charged with nine counts of misdemeanor indecent exposure, three counts of felony indecency with a child by exposure, and one count of failure to comply with sex offender registration duties. He’s also been charged with criminal mischief, marijuana possession, theft, burglary, resisting arrest and driving while intoxicated.

Clingman said Howard faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the indecency charge. But with his long list of arrests and prior convictions as a “perennial perpetrator,” he may receive a minimum punishment of 15 years in prison.

“We take those cases extremely seriously, Clingman said. “We always have to weigh the actual conduct that occurred with the strength of our case as far as our ability to prove that case.”

The girl’s father hopes to see improvements in the way that sex offenders are handled in this community.

“What are we waiting for?” he said. “Are we waiting for him to take a child’s innocence.”

The man said his daughter has had nightmares since the ordeal, but he thinks she’ll be able to move past it.